Love

I work with a school full of women, most of whom are older than me and they all have children of their own.  The majority of them are in the age where they are too old to have babies and their children are too young to have babies (too old to be a new mom, too young to be a grandma.)  When I was pregnant last year I heard a lot about how they all loved babies and now that my daughter has spent time around them I know they were not joking about how much they love babies.  It took me a while to figure out how lucky I am to be surrounded by these people.

I am realizing as my daughter grows that we (and she) are blessed to be around a supportive network.  It really does take a village to raise a child.  I am still getting used to asking for help and asking for babysitters, but the truth is, it is nearly impossible to raise a child on your own.  I need help and I am fortunate to be surrounded by people who are willing to help.

I used to take it for granted, but I have realized that we are lucky.  My daughter is growing up surrounded by family and friends who love and care about her well-being.  She is blessed to go to an amazing daycare where Ms. Toni and the kids take great care of her.  The other kids at daycare give her kisses and tell her they love her when she leaves for the day.  She often comes to school events with my husband and I (we are both teachers) and she is always passed around and played with by our students and their parents.  Every child deserves this, but I realize as a teacher that not every child has this situation.  Humans need to be loved and cared for and children need this even more.  I am a firm believer that children cannot be loved too much (coddled yes, but that is a post for another day.)

I am grateful for the community and people I am surrounded by.  It is a wonderful feeling to know that my daughter is growing up with people who take care and worry about her.  Our schools need to remember this easy to forget aspect of life.  Students need to know that people care and love them.  It does not matter if they come from a great family or a challenging one.  Students who come from a challenging background need the love and positive attention even more and even those who come from the best background can use extra interactions from caring adults.

Some schools are already out for the summer and others will be finishing up in the next few weeks.  It's a crazy time for teachers and students, but remember what really matters.  The students who need love will ask for it in the worst ways.  Focus on relationships and show students that an adult cares for them.  You never know exactly what they go home to.